SPARSH - Best Indian and Nepalese Cuisine Restaurant — Restaurant in London

NOT interestingly Indian !! Looking in through the window, Sparsh appears to be very inviting and indeed the waitress did greet us warmly. However, the Samosa Chat )£6.45)was terrible. The samosa was cold, the pastry tough and the contents flavourless. The topping was A tablespoon of yogurt & loads of red onions, and a salad garnish which tasted of mixed pickles with a dash of tamarind sauce covered with sev. It was served on a small flat dish which made it impossible to eat without spilling sev over the table cloth. I suspect the samosas were frozen. Hopes that the next dishes would be better were dashed with the arrival of Himachali Rarha Gosht.(£ 12.95 ) This lamb curry was boring beyond belief with no character to it, lacking any love from the chef. The sins of the cook were further exposed with the arrival of 2 parathas (£6.50). At the first tear of the bread it was obvious they were shop bought frozen, hesitantly confirmed by the waitress when asked. My companion had a South Indian Prawn Curry (£14.95) which contained nice juicy prawns but in a one note sauce which did no favour to the prawns. Plain Basmati Rice was (£4.45). The nail in the coffin of this menu was the Aubergine Bhartha, (£6.45)which was a dark slop with an unpleasant taste and texture. My last comment is with regard to the lovely crockery. Very nice quality, as was the interior decoration. However each plate and trendy angled bowl was so big that 4 diners would have a hard time to fit their food on the table. The cook, no chef, I’d say, should be ashamed to present frozen food at these prices and might make a visit to Chaska Maska in Brockley to see what Interestingly Indian food really tastes like. We asked for our bill as we did eat the Samosa Chats and the prawns plus a small beer & a can of coke but we were charged nothing. No reward however for such a totally disastrous meal...

“Interestingly Indian” is the perfect description for the experience of eating at Riwaz. There is so much love, care and attention that goes into the food and the service at Riwaz. A wonderful family run business, they have very quickly become our favourite food place in the area. We finally had this as a takeout this week and even as a takeout the food is incredible.

Firm starter favourites for us are cashew crusted prawns and chicken biryani arancini balls. The prawns are beautifully cooked and spiced with an excellent crunchy crust. Like the arancini balls, lovely crisp outside with a superb flavour and texture inside.

We are not vegetarians but our all time favourite dish here so far is the Riwaz Dal Makhani. Lentils that have been cooked for hours. I’ve never eaten lentils that tasty and the spicy, rich texture of the sauce has made this a staple of our dining experience.

A surprising favourite for me was the butter chicken. It is not something that I would order normally. But trusting the advice of the owners, they always give great advice on the food and helped us make great choices.

With such a variety of dishes, and all so different and delicious. I honestly will not be eating anywhere else for a while! We want to try as many more as we can!

Extra compliments must go to the team there. For the design of the restaurant, to the love and attention paid to this excellent menu. It makes such a huge and wonderful difference to be THIS excited about what we are going to try next. This is always helped by the service, which is always so kind and helpful. We look forward to going each and every time and cannot wait to come back...

This place has recently had a change in management, which could easily account for the deterioration in standards.

The chicken biryani arancini were once a staple but they came out cold and without any of the previous three dips that were offered (mango chutney, yoghurt chutney and a green chutney). I had the mango maple chicken and it had an awful aftertaste (definitely had been re-heated). The prawn moilee instead of being a fragrant and creamy coconut curry was more of a balti dish and fairly spicy. Whilst the lamb in friend’s lamb jalfrezi was soft, you couldn’t appreciate it because it was so excessively spicy (I’m South Asian and saying that!). You could just taste burn and chilli. Complimentary dessert was offered and that didn’t hit the mark either.

Service was friendly and welcoming.

Overall, an exceptionally disappointing dining experience and very different to the usual standards. Can’t say I’ll be in any...